Page 132 of Loved

“Oh, okay,” Penny said. “Well, it’s great to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine. I’ve heard so much about you.”

“Really?” Penny blushed again.

“Mhm. James talks about you all the time. I feel like I’ve known you for weeks.”

Because you’ve been watching her…

Penny smiled. “Aw well that’s really sweet.” She turned her smile to me.

Wait, had Ian actually just gotten Penny to calm down about all this? But that didn’t matter. Because Ian had just added on more lies and I was trying to come clean.

“Well this has been a very interesting turn of events.” Rob got off the couch and joined us in the kitchen. “I’ll roll with it. Ready to go apartment hunting?”

“You really don’t have to come,” I said.

“Of course I do. I need to make sure I like my room. I get the final say.”

Was he being serious right now? We weren’t picking a place based off of the guest room.

Penny just laughed. “Okay, yeah, let’s go.”

She really seemed good. And Penny wasn’t great at hiding her emotions. Like when she’d basically yelled at me during one of her Comm speeches.

Rob escorted her toward the elevators.

Ian went to follow, but I put my hand on his shoulder.

“What the hell, man?” I said. “I was trying to come clean to her.”

“I know. And you were doing a great job,” he said sarcastically.

“And you think adding more lies on top of it makes it better?”

“She was already upset about the cameras. Imagine how she would have reacted when you told her a stranger was watching the live feed?”

I pressed my lips together.

“She’s not used to this lifestyle, James. For right now, she doesn’t need to know how much security is implemented into your everyday life. You don’t want to freak her out. This is all a lot to get used to. Especially when you add a big move on top of it.”

That was true… “So you want her to believe that you’re just our driver?”

He smiled. “I’ve always wanted to do undercover work.”

“I don’t know, Ian. I think just telling her the truth might be better.”

“Trust me on this. She’ll be more comfortable thinking I’m just her driver. For now. You can come clean about all this later once you’re settled into your new routine in NYC.”

He did have a good point. I slowly nodded. “I guess so. You really think this is a good idea?”

“Yeah. I think it’s for the best. Besides, I want her to like me. And if you immediately tell her I watch you guys have sex, it’s a bad first impression.”

He was probably right about that. I’d tell Penny eventually. After she calmed down about the cameras. Although…she already seemed pretty calm. She was laughing about something with Rob in front of the elevator. But she still probably had questions. I’d handle all this first and then tell Penny about Ian’s actual job title.

The elevator doors opened and Penny smiled at me over her shoulder. “Are you guys coming?”

I felt like she was still going to give me hell. But I couldn’t resist her when she smiled at me like that.

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